Stephens to play in East-West Shrine Game Saturday

Cornerback Linden Stephens was one of the more improved players on the Bearcats team last season and he gets a chance to show off his skills in the East-West Shrine game today at 3 p.m. on NFL Network. #BearcatNation make sure you root for the West Team and Stephens will be wearing No. 20 besides his normal No. 9.

Good luck to the Ohio native a strong showing will help his NFL aspirations.

University of Cincinnati cornerback Linden Stephens (Euclid, Ohio/Euclid/Fork Union Military Academy) will be among the prospects in the 93rd annual East-West Shrine Game at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 20, from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

The Shrine Game, which features some of college football’s best prospects, will be televised live on NFL Network.

Stephens, who will wear No. 20 for the West Team, started all 12 games in 2017 and tallied 21 career starts. His 51 tackles ranked among the Bearcats’ top seven on the season, including 31 solo stops, a team-high eight pass break ups and an interception.

In 50 career games, Stephens hauled in six interceptions defended 26 passes, made 140 tackles and forced a fumble.

He hit a number of career milestones in 2017, recording a career-best eight tackles and a 39-yard interception return against SMU and a career-high four PBUs at Miami (Ohio). Stephens earned a bachelor’s degree in substance abuse counseling in December 2017.

For more than 90 years, some of football’s greatest players and coaches have contributed to the tradition of the East-West Shrine Game, the nation’s first college all-star football game. Created by the Shriners in 1925, the game is driven by the desire to support Shriners Hospitals for Children in its mission to help children in need of expert medical care. Participating players make an annual visit to the local Shriners Hospital, visiting children and staff in an experience that they will truly never forget.

Managing Editor of Bearcat Insider, I've been on the BCI team the last couple of years. I made the final four in the Biggest Big East Fan contest in 2011, I covered UC also on Cincy on the Prowl. I'm just a lefty trying to get buckets in this game called life Van Exel style.